The en masse resignation submitted by judges of subordinate courts in Telangana on Sunday took a serious turn on Monday as the High Court at Hyderabad suspended the president and general secretary K. Ravinder Reddy and V. Varaprasad respectively of Telangana Judges’ Association on disciplinary grounds.
Mr. Reddy is the IVth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge at the Nampally criminal courts and Mr. Varaprasad XIVth Additional District Judge in Ranga Reddy courts. Protesting the suspension, sources said, the judges belonging to Telangana have decided to apply for mass casual leave on Tuesday. A meeting of the executive committee of Judges’ Association is scheduled for Tuesday where a decision allowing Mr. Reddy and Mr. Varaprasad to go on an indefinite hunger strike is likely.
The deputation of a lower court judge M. Radhakrishna Chauhan to the High Court, who is an office bearer of the association, has been cancelled.
Meanwhile, the extra general body meeting of Telangana High Court Advocates Association while condemning the suspension orders passed a resolution requesting the Chief Justice of India and President to recall the Acting Chief Justice of High Court Dilip B. Bhosale.
The advocates of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were requested to abstain from cases in Court I, presided by Justice Bhosale, till the suspension was revoked.
120 judges meet
About 120 judges of Telangana courts met at a hotel here on Sunday and resolved to resign in protest against allocation of judges of Andhra Pradesh nativity to posts in Telangana.
They decried the delay in bifurcation of the High Court between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The resignations were handed over to Mr. Reddy as the president of their association and he was authorised to submit them to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, who was the appointing authority, on July 2.
The Telangana judges and advocates are opposing the provisional list released by the High Court on May 3, allocating 135 judges of Andhra Pradesh nativity to subordinate courts in Telangana.
The advocates across Telangana have been boycotting courts and holding relay hunger strike in the premises since June 6. They have decided to stage a mass dharna here on July 1. The judicial employees will also join the agitation on Tuesday.